Heart without a Beat
by TuggersTuxedoTom
Summary: Chartara and the kitten gang are finally of age! Several queens in the tribe are pregnant again! There's just one problem…what's with the new Jellicle? Sequel to "Kittenhood Crush."
1. Where's the Fire?

**Well, here's the sequel like I promised! **

**It would've come later, but **Cocobutterrox** DEMANDED me to write it now. Haha. Well, enjoy! For those who haven't read "Kittenhood Crush," you might want to before reading this. It will explain a few things.**

***I don't own Cats.***

* * *

"Mom! Dad!" I woke up to see Chartara running around our room. "Wake up!" She sped back out of the room. I looked over at Tugger, who kissed me and my stomach good morning. My pregnancy was showing, and I was only a few weeks away from the due date.

Chartara ran back into the room before speeding back out again. Everlasting Cat knew where she got all that energy! Tugger winked and scrambled out of bed. He stood at the side of the door and waited for Chartara to run back in. Lo and behold, she came back in. Tugger snatched her up and she squealed.

"Where's the fire?" He asked her as he set her down. The old saying was 'What? Did you see Macavity or something?' But Tugger couldn't say that after...well, you know. So he changed it.

She shrugged. "I dunno. I'm just excited for my new baby sister."

"Now Chartara," I said as Tugger helped me out of bed. "We discussed this: we're having the kitten be a surprise. It may be a brother."

She frowned. "Maybe. I just hope it's a sister. Dad, can we go hunting now? Ova and Uza are ready to go."

"Alright, alright." Chartara gave me a hug and kiss goodbye before running out to meet her friends. Tugger stayed back to help me to the couch.

"Good luck," I murmured as we watched her leave. "You're gonna need it."

Tugger chuckled. "Yeah. Well, we'll be back soon. Anything you fancy for at the moment?"

"Pigeon," I answered. He nodded and took off after our daughter. I leaned back against the cushions and rubbed my swollen stomach. "Hope you come soon, little one. We're all excited to meet you."

They came back a little while later, along with Ovahad, Fairuza, and their families. Remember when I mentioned that I wasn't the only one pregnant? Well, Demeter, Bombalurina, AND Victoria were all pregnant as well! We all planned to keep out kitten's genders a secret, and we were all dying with curiosity!

"How are your feet, Vicky?" Demeter asked. Victoria had the worst swollen feet out of all of us.

"They still hurt like crazy," Victoria replied. "But Misto and Uza are using their healing powers to help."

"Dad says I'm getting better at it!" Fairuza boasted proudly.

"'ey, wonna see moi new Rumpus Cat comics?" Ovahad asked Chartara and Fairuza. They nodded and ran over to his den. With them gone, we talked a little more about Chartara.

"Any more nightmares?" Bomba asked.

I shook my head. "No. It's strange. Jenny said that she shouldn't have gotten over that this early. She says that most kittens and human babies that experience that type of stuff take years to get over."

"Maybe she's just lucky," Misto piped up.

"Woll, she seems tah be bettah, ot least," Jerrie added.

"No kidding," Tugger replied. "We're just so grateful she's better. She's so excited for her new sibling. How about Fairuza and Ovahad?"

"She's excited," Misto and Victoria said in unison.

"So is Ovahad," Bomba added. "He desperately wants a brother."

"Huh…" I mused. "Like father, like son." Jerrie still hopes to have all boys. I feel bad for Bomba. She wants to at least have one daughter!

We started talking about the Jellicles. Most of the queens still followed Tugger around, still drooling over his swagger. They always wanted him to dance and sing for them. Even Tugger admitted to me that it was getting kind of creepy. As if on cue, loud and funky music filled the tribe.

"Well," Tugger groaned as he stood up. "I guess that's my cue."


	2. Mother and Daughter Chat

**Author's Note: Recap from "Kittenhood Crush," Macavity said that Aliyah was his daughter.**

* * *

_"Hey, Aliyah," Tugger said. "I think you forgot to mention something to our readers…"_

_"Huh?" I replied. "Oh, yeah!"_

I had forgotten to tell you the greatest news in the world!

There was something bugging me at the back of my mind ever since Macavity took me as his prisoner. I noticed that he and I didn't share one single resemblance to one another. So, I found a cat who keeps track of all birth, death, and marriage announcements. I made him look up both his and my mother's name, along with mine. Tugger also did the same with his family.

It turns out: MACAVITY WASN'T MY FATHER AT ALL, and he wasn't related to Tugger, Munk, and Old Deuteronomy! This meant none of us were related to each other. Let me tell you how much weight was lifted off my shoulders...a lot. Well, since I'm mated to Tugger, I guess we're related in some sort of way. The Jellicles (especially Tugger and Munk) were ecstatic to hear the news! It turns out that my mother had gotten pregnant from a different tom, one that Macavity had killed a long time ago.

Anyways…back to the story.

* * *

_One month later…_

"OW! Mommy!" I heard a voice yell. "Tara bit my tail!"

"Tara," I scolded. "Please don't bite your brother."

"He started it…" Chartara muttered.

"Did not!" He retorted.

"Did too!" She yelled.

As you can guess, I had given birth to a tom. His name was Orano, and he was smokey grey with black stripes – almost like Munk. Demeter and Munkustrap had a little queen named Felecia (whose fur was white and gold), Bombalurina and Mungojerrie had a little queen as well named Richaela (whose fur was orange and red), and Victoria and Mistoffelees had a little tom named Yuko (whose fur was black and white).

"Kittens!" Tugger sighed. "Listen to your mother!"

"But Dad…" Chartara whined.

"No 'buts'," he replied. Chartara squinted her eyes at him. Whew, she was a handful, now that she became of age. The sweet and quiet kitten I knew had been replaced with a loud and rebellious queen. We asked Jenny about her sudden behavior change, and she said it might have been the result from the things that went on when she was kitten – napped by Macavity.

"Whatever," Chartara huffed and flounced off to her bedroom. He stared after her in shock. I went to talk to her, thinking I knew what the problem was. Tugger took Orano outside to play with Felecia, Richaela, and Yuko.

"Honey?" I said quietly.

"Go away," came the reply. A light sniffle came from her bedroom.

"Please tell me what's wrong," I said, ignoring her wish.

"No."

I sighed. "Can I at least come in?" She opened the door to her room and sat on her bed, avoiding my gaze. I sat next to her and held her closely. She sniffed and pulled away to look at me. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Why, Mom?"

"What?" I asked.

"Why do toms hate me?" Aha. I knew where she was leading this to. Chartara had gone out with a few toms, but they all dumped her after a while. I think one of the reasons was because Tugger was protective of her, and they were slightly timid of him.

"They don't hate you," I reassured.

"Yes they do!" She cried. "I've gone out with toms, and they never asked me to be their mate! I'm finally old enough! Why is everyone finding a mate except me?"

"What about Ovahad?" I asked. "You two would've made a cute couple."

She shook her head. "No. He likes Fairuza. Everyone knew they'd be mates sooner or later."

"Oh…" I faltered. I honestly felt bad for her. She desperately wanted to have a mate and family of her own, but no one asked her yet.

"Let's face it," she said sadly. "I'm not good enough for anyone."

"Don't say that!" I exclaimed. "There's someone out there who's perfect for you! You just have to keep looking!"

"You and Dad are perfect for each other," she pointed out. "Why can't I be happy with someone like you guys?"

"Well," I admitted. "I actually couldn't stand being around your father for a long time. But after a while, I could see that he really did care for me. He definitely was a tom that I never thought I would end up with."

Chartara chuckled. "Yeah, I heard from Jemima that she, Electra, Etcetera, and even Victoria swooned over him. It's kinda weird to hear that my friends were crushing on Dad."

I laughed with her. "Well, the Rum Tum Tugger _is_ a curious cat." I turned Chartara so she was facing me. "Listen, no matter what, Dad, Orano, and I will always love you and be here for you."

"I know…" she wiped her tears.

"And trust me, there is a tom out there waiting for you."

She smiled. "Thanks, Mom." She hopped off her bed. "C'mon, let's go find Orano. I want to apologize for biting his tail," she added sheepishly.

"That's my girl," I said as I nuzzled her head. Then, paw – in – paw, we walked outside to our friends and family.


	3. Anyone Home?

"Hello?" A young tom called out. "Dad? I'm home!"

"Tristan?" A female voice called out. A creamy colored queen scurried out. "Oh! How was the trip?"

Tristan, the young tom, had gone out to sea with his father's closest friend, Growltiger. "It was good," he replied. "It definitely builds character."

Griddlebone chuckled. "Growltiger does that."

Tristan looked around. "So, uh, have you seen Dad anywhere? I want to tell him all about the trip."

Griddlebone sucked in her breath. "He's not here."

"When will he get back?" Tristan flopped on a couch and rested his hind feet on the table, turning to his Dad's friend, waiting for an answer.

"Tristan," Griddlebone sighed. "Your father…well…a little less than a year ago…"

"What's wrong?" Tristan asked.

"…he was killed."

Tristan bolted upright. "Very funny," he laughed. "Dad did always like jokes. You can come out now, you got me!" He called out to no one.

"I'm not joking," Griddlebone said seriously. Tristan noticed it and sat back down. Griddlebone took his paw. "Your father was murdered. Now, I don't want to say by who, because I'm not the type to seek revenge. I'm so sorry."

The white and orange patched tom yanked his paw out of hers and stood up. His paws began shaking violently and his eyes brimmed with tears. He ran out of the room and towards the roof, where he sat and cried in the moonlight. The roof was his and his father's special place. When Tristan was a kitten, his father took him up to the roof to watch the moon. No one knew it, but Tristan still came up to the roof to watch and sing to the moon whenever he was sad or lonely. The moon, in his mind, was his only friend (other than his father's friends).

"Why did I have to go on that stupid trip?!" Tristan yelled at the moon. "He'd still be alive if I didn't go!"

The moon, of course, didn't reply.

"I'm sorry, Dad," he whispered as he kicked a pebble off the roof. _"I have to get out of here," _he thought.

He casted one last glance at his old home before running away. He didn't care where he went, he just wanted to get away from the horrible memories. Tristan ran all night, not stopping for breath. Finally, though, he had to stop and rest. Tears had fallen freely down his cheeks and he was sobbing slightly. He stopped and looked at the moon once more.

The moon seemed to urge him to continue. Why? Tristan wasn't sure.


	4. Moonlight Spy

***I don't own the brief song 'Welcome to my Life' by Simple Plan.***

* * *

"Look, Tara, I'm sorry," a tom was saying. "But we need to break up."

"What?" Chartara asked. "Why?"

"I don't like you anymore," the tom replied.

Chartara felt her eyes fill with tears. "Fine," she crossed her eyes and turned away. "Go. I didn't like you anyways."

The tom took off, and Chartara sank to the ground and cried. Liam, the tom she was talking to, was her tomfriend for only a few days. She was right: no tom would ever love her. Maybe she'll live alone her whole life, and find a kitten to adopt, other than give birth to her own. She climbed up on a pile of junk and turned towards the moon.

"What am I going to do?" She asked the moon.

_"Do you ever feel like breaking down? Do you ever feel out of place? Like somehow you just don't belong, and no one understands you?" _She sang softly. "_To be on the edge of breaking down_, w_hen no one's there to save you_. _No, you don't know what it's like_. _Welcome to my life…"_

* * *

Tristan had no idea where he was. Maybe on the other side of town? Up ahead, he could see a junkyard. He walked towards it, hoping to find some shelter there. As he got closer, he could hear the soft sound of someone singing. Twisting his ears, he followed the sound, and found himself staring up at a queen. Her eyes were closed and she was facing the moon. Tristan could see she had been crying.

_"Do you wanna be somebody else? Are you sick of feeling so left out? Are you desperate to find something more, before your life is over?" _Her voice was beautiful. _"No, you don't know what it's like. Welcome to my life…"_

_"I do know what it's like," _Tristan thought. He, too, was an outcast. Most of the cats his age steered away from him because of his father. He didn't have any real friends, just the ones his father had. The queen then ended her song, sighing softly. Tristan walked out from behind his hiding place. The queen saw him and shrieked, losing her balance.

"AHH!" Tristan ran forward, ready to catch her. She fell off the pile of junk, and into Tristan's ready arms.

"Hi," Tristan said.

The queen jumped out of his hold. "Who are you?" She asked.

"Tristan," he replied. "And you?"

"Chartara, or Tara, for short." She brushed the dirt off her fur. "Were you spying on me?"

"N – No," he answered. "I was wandering around and heard singing. I came over to see what it was. That's all." Chartara narrowed her eyes at him, but decided Tristan seemed harmless.

"Are you ok?" She asked, noticing his sad eyes.

"Not really. I just learned my father had been killed."

"Oh…" Chartara faltered. "Well, why don't you come with me? My tribe might let you live with us."

"Really?" Tristan was intrigued. "You live here?"

"Mhm," Chartara nodded. "There's a lot of us. We're called the Jellicles."

"I've heard of you!" Tristan exclaimed. "My Dad always talked about you guys!"

"Really?" Chartara seemed confused. "No one really knows we live here." They shrugged and started walking to the tribe. On the way, Chartara told him about the different Jellicles there, and how Old Deuteronomy would be the one who decided if Tristan should live there or not. "Don't worry," she said. "My Grandtom is really nice." There was a bit of awkward silence between the two.

"By the way," Tristan said shyly. "You have a really pretty voice."

Chartara blushed. "Thanks. We'll, here we are!" She gestured to a big clearing. Tristan thought she was joking. It looked deserted.

"Uh…"

"They're all inside," she said like she read his mind. Just then, I poked my head out of my den when I heard her voice.

"Chartara!" I called out as I saw my daughter with a strange tom I didn't recognize. Tugger came by my side.

"Where have you been?" Tugger demanded, then eyed the tom. "Who's this?"

"To answer your first question, I was just taking a walk. I'll tell you later," she replied. "And this is Tristan."

"Tugger, go check on Orano," I interrupted. "I'll take care of this." He huffed and walked away. I turned back to the two cats. "Now, what's going on?"

"As I told Dad, I was out walking, and we sort of bumped into each other," Chartara explained.

"Where's Liam?" I asked, noticing he wasn't present.

"Can we talk about that later?" She seemed uncomfortable. "Anyways, Tristan doesn't have parents and needs a place to live…so I kind of told him Grandtom might let him live here."

"How old are you?" I asked Tristan.

"I became of age about a month ago," he answered.

"Really?" Chartara perked up. "I became of age a week ago!" They smiled at each other.

"Well," I said slowly. "Old Deuteronomy will be here tomorrow morning. You may speak with him then."

"Where'll Tristan sleep?" Chartara asked.

"I can find myself a den," Tristan spoke up. "I'm used to this sort of thing."

I nodded. "Alright. Well, we'll see you in the morning. We live in that human playhouse over there." Chartara waved goodbye to Tristan and followed me home. When we got inside, Tugger was putting Orano to sleep, so we went to her bedroom to talk. "So, what's going on?"

"Liam broke up with me," she answered.

"How come?"

"He says he didn't like me anymore." She shrugged. "Whatever. I'm better off without him."

I pulled her into a tight hug before letting her go to sleep. Tugger was still a little skeptical about our daughter being alone with a tom that neither of us knew. I had to admire my mate – he may be a gigantic flirt and full of himself, but when it came to our family, he sure knew how to be protective. I thought about that new tom. Maybe he'd be a good friend for Chartara.

Only Everlasting Cat will know…


	5. Bad Vibe

**Whew! Sorry it took so long to update! Anyways, enjoy! I wasn't too thrilled with this chapter though...**

* * *

Tugger was mumbling to himself the next morning. I could make out some words under his breath, such as 'toms', 'too young to be alone at night', and other things. Obviously he was still upset at the thought of Liam leaving her alone at night. I got Orano's breakfast ready and helped primp Chartara's mane. Finally, Tugger calmed down and sat with us, telling me about that he and Munk were going to go stock up on food for the tribe later. We were interrupted by a small knock on the door. Orano opened it and let Tristan in. I hid a smile as Tugger tensed back up and gave him a dark glare behind his back.

"Good morning," Tristan greeted.

"Good morning," I replied. "Chartara is just finishing getting ready." Chartara then bounded out of her room and smiled when she saw Tristan.

"Hi," he said shyly.

"Hi. Ready to go?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tugger piped up. "Where are you going?"

"Dad," she hissed. "You're embarrassing me! And I'm taking him to meet the rest of the tribe."

He held up his hands apologetically. "Sorry. Have fun." Chartara gave everyone a quick kiss and somersaulted out the door. Tristan glanced at me with an amused expression and I winked. He chuckled and followed her out the door.

"I don't trust him," Tugger mused when they were gone.

"Oh, you're just jealous because you just have more competition in the tribe," I joked.

He rolled his eyes. "No way. It's known that I'm the best looking tom around."

"Oh, you're right. My bad." I wiped Orano's face and sent him outside. "He's younger and more attractive with the queens."

"That's it! I'm leaving now!" He swatted my bottom and ran out the door.

* * *

"Ovahad! Fairuza!" Chartara called over to her friends. They turned and smiled.

"Hi!" Fairuza greeted.

"Whot's up?" Ovahad greeted.

"This is Tristan," Chartara said, gesturing to the tom next to her.

"Hey," Tristan said. Ovahad pursed his lips and looked him up and down.

"Yah seem loike a prettah cool tom so fah," Ovahad approved. "Come 'ang with us." Tristan smiled and they all sat down in a group. Fairuza was about to put on a small magic show, which Tristan thought was interesting. After they were done, Chartara took him on a tour of the junkyard, pointing out everyone's dens and where certain cats their age lived. At one point, they came across the psychic twins, Tantomile and Coricopat.

"Hello Tristan," they said in unison.

He looked taken aback. "How did you know my name?"

"We can look inside of you," Cori explained. "If you want, we can look deep inside your soul."

"No," Tristan said quickly. "I'd rather not." Tanto and Cori blinked in surprise at his sudden change in mood. Tristan quickly pulled Chartara away. Chartara shrugged off his strange behavior and finished up introducing everyone.

* * *

"I'm telling you Munk," Tugger was saying. "There's something off about him."

Munk rolled his eyes and he placed another mouse in his sack. "Here's only been here for one night. How can you think something's wrong?"

"I just can," Tugger replied. "He sends off this bad vibe."

"Bad vibe?" Munk repeated. "Ok, you've officially lost your mind."

"Shut it Munk," Tugger growled.

"Fine, fine," Munk calmed down. "I'll keep an eye on him just for you."

Tugger nodded and they finished stocking up on mice, rats, and pigeon. After that discussion, they had a great time laughing and harassing each other. Munk noticed the change in Tugger's behavior after Chartara was kitten – napped by Macavity. He became more protective than Munk had ever seen him, which made Munk proud. He snapped back to reality when Tugger was calling for him to hurry up.

"C'mon old tom!" Tugger laughed. "Let's get a move on!"

Munk playfully swatted his shoulder. "You're one to talk! You already have more children than I do!" A cold breeze passed them and they shuddered. "We should hurry. We need to stock up and give everyone extra blankets and things. The snowstorm should be coming any day now."


End file.
